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No. 15 Bruins Travel to California for Pac-12 Road Trip
March 28, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 15th-ranked UCLA baseball team (15-5, 5-1) will be on the road for the first time during Pac-12 play this season when they travel to north to take on California (14-9, 1-5) in a three-game conference series beginning on Thursday, March 29 at 7 p.m. PT at Evans Diamond. Each game of the series can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probably Starters
Thursday, March 29 - 7 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jake Bird, RHP, Sr. (2-1, 1.17 ERA)
CAL - Matt Ladrech, LHP, Sr. (2-3, 4.97 ERA)
Friday, March 30 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Fr. (4-0, 2.35 ERA)
CAL - Jared Horn, RHP, So. (3-2, 4.81 ERA)
Saturday, March 31 - 2 p.m. PT
UCLA - TBA
CAL - Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Jr. (1-1, 3.03 ERA)
Live Audio | Live Stats | Follow @UCLABaseball
Weekendย in Review
UCLA won its second-straight Pac-12 series to being the conference season taking two out of three from Arizona State.
- UCLA began the weekend in dramatic fashion as they earned a walk-off win over ASU, 6-5, in the 10th inning as Kyle Cuellar came into the game as a pinch hitter and delivered the game-winning hit.
- On Saturday, the Bruins took the series the a dominate 12-1 victory. RJ Teijeiro collected three hits with two doubles and scored three runs, while Jake Hirabayashi hit a home run to lead the offense.
- UCLA dropped the series finale, 4-0, to Arizona State as Jack Stronach and Jake Pries each recorded two base hits, while Jack Ralston threw 4.1 innings allowing just one run.
Closing in on 800
UCLA head coach John Savage is nearing a milestone mark at UCLA. The skipper is scheduled to surpass 800 career games at UCLA on March 29 at California as he sits at 799 games. Savage is the third longest-tenured coach in program history behind Gary Adams (1975-2004) with over 1,800 career games and Arthur Reichle (1941, 1946-74) with over 1,300 games coached for the Bruins. Coach Savage has the highest winning percentage of any coach since 1926 and has taken the Bruins to new heights with its first national championship in 2013, three College World Series appearances and led UCLA to postseason play in nine seasons.
Toglia Sets the Pace
Sophomore Michael Toglia is leading the Bruin offense so far the season. Toglia comes into the game leading the team in slugging at .689 with a .519 on-base percentage and is second on the team hitting .329. Toglia has four home runs this season, including two at Cal State Fullerton from both sides of the plate, has driven in 17 runs and has also stole two bases.
Starting Pitchers Lead the Way
Under head coach John Savage, the UCLA baseball team has been known for its starting pitching and this year is no different. Through the first 20 games of the season, Bruin starting pitchers have thrown 116.1 innings and have allowed 25 earned runs for a 1.93 ERA. The starters have also totaled 87 strikeouts compared to just 29 walks, good or a 3.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio and are 10-2 this season.
Hot Start for the Bruins
The Bruins are off to a fast start this year as they enter the weekend with a 15-5 record. This is the best start for UCLA since beginning the 2015 season 15-5, becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and also the 2013 season starting 15-4, the year the Bruins won its first-ever NCAA championship. UCLA is also 5-1 to start Pac-12 play, the same record as both of the 2013 and 2015 teams.
Oh the Places You'll Go
This season, the Bruins had a unique opportunity to do something that may never have been done in college baseball. UCLA will be playing consecutive Sundays in stadiums that hosted the most recent Super Bowl as U.S. Bank Stadium welcomed Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, and the most recent World Series game as Dodger Stadium was the site of Game 7 between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
NCAA Rankings
With the over one third of the season in the books, the Bruins are ranked top-25 nationally in a number of categories:
- ERA (5th, 2.41), Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (9th, 6.99), WHIP (10th, 1.15), Fielding Percentage (12th, .982) and Doubles per Game (22nd, 2.30).
Pac-12 Leaders
UCLA is ranked in the top-3 in the conference both individually and as a team in a number of categories:
- As a team, while top-3 in on-base percentage, doubles, walks, sacrifice flies, stolen bases, ERA, opposing batting average, runs allowed, hits allowed, walks allowed and fielding percentage.
- Individually, Michael Toglia is top-10 in the Pac-12 conference in home runs, slugging percentage, doubles and on-base percentage. Chase Strumpf is also top-10 in slugging percentage, RBIs and home runs. Zach Pettway is top-10 in ERA, opposing batting average, and innings pitched, while Jake Bird is tops in the conference in ERA and innings pitched.
In The Polls
UCLA made a jump in the national polls after going 2-1 over the weekend to improve to 5-1 to start Pac-12 play. Baseball America has the Bruins at No. 15, up one spot from last week and D1Baseball has UCLA jumping two spots to No. 15 in the country, while the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll has the Bruins steady at No. 13.
Representing the Red, White and Blue
Over the summer in 2017, head coach John Savage was the manager of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and right-handed pitcher Jon Olsen became the first Bruin to play for Team USA since James Kaprielian in 2014. Savage led the U.S. to a 15-5 record over the summer, including holding an 11-4 mark during international play. The United States won all three international series it competed in, including going 4-0 against Chinese Taipei and 3-2 versus both Cuba and Japan. Olsen finished the summer with a 1-0 record and a 2.67 ERA in six appearances for the red, white and blue. He also registered 15 strikeouts compared to just two walks.
Baby Bruins
The Bruins welcome eight new players to Westwood for the 2018 season. The recruiting class was ranked No. 16 by Baseball America, marking the fourth consecutive year that UCLA has been tabbed in the top 25. The class was also tabbed No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball. It marks the 11th time in 13 years the Bruins have earned a top-20 ranking from Collegiate Baseball.
- Garrett Mitchell, Sam Glick and Chase Farrell were selected in the 2017 MLB draft in June.
- Holden Powell was named to the All-West Coast League second team selection, while Zach Pettway was named an honorable mention over the summer.
- Mitchell was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year in the Pac-12 by Baseball America.
Scouting Cal
California enters the weekend with a 14-9 mark, but are just 1-5 in conference play after dropping two out of three to Oregon on the road last weekend and defeating UC Davis on Tuesday, 9-3. Cal as a team is tops in the conference in slugging percentage and runs scored, while second in batting average. The Golden Bears offense is led by Andrew Vaughn who leads the conference in hitting (.468), slugging (1.038) RBIs (33) and home runs (13). On the mound, Aaron Shortridge leads the starting rotation with a 3.03 ERA in four starts with a 1-1 record, while Jared Horn is 3-2 with a 4.81 ERA in 33.2 innings pitched. Out of the bullpen, Tanner Dodson has four saves in seven appearances with a 2.40 ERA.
History against the Golden Bears
The Bruins are 180-175 against California all-time as the Bruins are 10-5 over the last 15 games including a three-game sweep at home in 2017. On the road, UCLA is 5-4 since 2012 at Evans Diamond. Under head coach John Savage, UCLA is 24-15 against the Golden Bears.
Positional Rankings
D1Baseball has ranked the top players in the country by position and a number of Bruins have made the positional rankings:
- Michael Toglia - 1B - No. 9
- Chase Strumpf - 2B - No. 13
- Ryan Kreidler - SS - No. 23
- Jon Olsen - SP - No. 33
- Daniel Amaral - OF - No. 59
- Kyle Molnar - SP - No. 70
- Garrett Mitchell - OF - No. 81
Draft Stock
UCLA has several players that are ranked inside the top 100 MLB draft prospects in the country.
- Kyle Molnar was named the No. 10 2018 draft prospect by Baseball America and No. 13 by D1Baseball in the Pac-12. He was also tabbed the No. 91 overall college draft prospect by D1Baseball.
- Jon Olsen was pegged No. 14 by Baseball America and No. 16 by D1Baseball in the Pac-12 for 2018 draft prospects.
- Daniel Amaral and Jake Bird were each named to D1Baseball's list of 2018 draft prospects in the Pac-12.
- Bird was also named as one of the top college senior draft prospects by D1Baseball and baseball America.
- Michael Toglia was tabbed the No. 1 draft prospect in the Pac-12 by D1Baseball for the 2019 MLB draft and No. 8 by Baseball America. He was also tabbed the 12th-highest prospect overall by D1Baseball.
- In addition to Toglia, Chase Strumpf, Ryan Kreidler, Jeremy Ydens and Jack Stronach were on D1Baseball'sย top 2019 MLB draft prospects list.
Looking Ahead
The Bruins return to Southern California next week when they take on Loyola Marymount on the road on Tuesday, April 3, before hosting Stanford in a marquee Pac-12 series at Jackie Robinson Stadium beginning on Friday, April 6 at 6 p.m. PT.
